Mariners' ascendant shortstop prospect gets highest ranking yet in new list

One season after having arguably his worst offensive campaign in the majors, J.P. Crawford is having the second-best one of his nine years in the big leagues. However, thoughts still turn to the future at shortstop for the Seattle Mariners due to his defense not being at the same level as previous years, combined with his current contract due to run out at the end of 2026.

The Mariners have continually had a strong farm system during the Jerry Dipoto era, and fans should be particularly excited when it comes to the future at shortstop, in the form of Colt Emerson. And it appears ESPN is well on board with his potential, with Kiley McDaniel ranking the recently-turned 20-year-old seventh in his updated top 100 MLB prospects list.

Best yet for Colt Emerson

This is big for Emerson — and by extension the Mariners — with the ranking representing his highest position yet since being drafted. As McDaniel writes:

"Emerson was the 22nd pick in that same 2023 draft as (Max) Clark, and it quickly became apparent that he was underrated. He is now in Double-A and looks like he can be an every-day lefty-hitting MLB shortstop with above-average on-base percentages and 20ish homers."

Kiley McDaniel for ESPN

For some context, Emerson is currently ranked 11th by MLB Pipeline, 13th by Baseball America and 25th by FanGraphs. As much as these rankings might vary, the commonality is that the Zanesville, Ohio native is thought highly of, which makes sense since he's been strong offensively for a while now and continues to impress critics with just how good he's become defensively.

Emerson began the 2025 season in High-A Everett and showed he wasn't messing around as he hit professional career highs of 11 home runs and 51 RBI on the way to producing a .842 OPS in 90 games. This resulted in his promotion to Double-A Arkansas, where he wasted no time in announcing his arrival in his debut with a double and a dazzling defensive play.

The left-handed bat has proven to be almost equally effective against both righties and southpaws. As per MLB Pipeline, he's received recognition from some executives as the best pure hitter in the minors, and there is a feasible best-case scenario where he will be the prime version of Crawford, but with more power.

Mariners well-placed in general among MLB prospects

As mentioned, the Mariners have continued to have one of the best farm systems in the Majors and in total have seven prospects in ESPN's updated top 100 list. Kade Anderson jumps into second place among M's prospects at No. 16 overall, with Ryan Sloan ranked No. 43 and Jonny Farmelo next at No. 63.

Farmelo is closely followed by Harry Ford at No. 65 and Michael Arroyo at No. 67. Of particular interest though, Lazaro Montes drops down to No. 86, while there is no sign of Felnin Celesten despite his recent hot stretch and promotion.

Overall, though, there shouldn't be too many complaints about the Mariners' representation in a top 100 list from one of the major North American sports media outlets. Emerson is undoubtedly the headline act for the M's as he continues to ascend, looking in line to make his Major League debut at some point next year or in 2027 and be the long-term answer at shortstop in Seattle.